Nicolas Kemper

Introducing NYRA #46/47: La Grande Ratte!

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1 like = 1 passenger rail project idea

(I wanted to wait to finish my blog post before committing to a thread.)

i would build a new university in rural michigan where all my friends would get together and reinvent german idealism from first principles. so no.

We’re throwing a party and it’s going to be a hot one! Cool off and celebrate our fresh double issue, #46/47, in the comfort of a Fort Greene beer garden on Wednesday, July 30.

RSVP at nyra.nyc/rsvp

A SERIOUS request to @michaelrbloomberg.bsky.social — please create an account for Bloomberg Citylab here on @bsky.app. Citylab has been an excellent platform for articles about cities (I used to write for it, and @langealexandra.bsky.social won a Pulitzer for it!).

REPOST if you support Citylab.

Space invaders On day 32, they came for our parks

As I watched federal troops advance across a mostly empty MacArthur Park, I knew there was one part of the park that was definitely filled with people. My kids go to the same summer camp at another LA city rec center. Where, apparently, nothing could stop this from happening again today

Hot take: rapid transit riders deserve sunlight, fresh air and views. Ie, we should actually try to keep lines on grade or elevated, and out of tunnels.

New York’s public pools open today! In honor of the delights of cold, chlorinated water, we're revisiting a question posed by Karolina Czeczek, @ntok.bsky.social‬, and A. L. Hu in NYRA no. 21: “Why does New York no longer build public pools?”

nyra.nyc/articles/why...

Four horn players from Kamasi Washington’s band play inside a concrete room.

A fir extinguisher embedded in a concrete wall.

A set of floating concrete stairs leads to the second story of a museum:

A piece of Japanese inspired architecture is visible through a hallway of concrete walls

Sneaky peeks from LACMA’s new Zumthor building.

There are voters on Randalls island??

We are live!!! hellgatenyc.com/primary-live...

We have fielded a few requests to turn this drawing into a t-shirt.

“The ongoing futility of the campaign to eliminate them raises an important question: Do we even want to live without rats?”

Aaron Timms gnaws on New York City's rat control policy in NYRA no. 45.

nyra.nyc/articles/rat...

Every time someone replies “paywall” under a story I post, it’s like … yeh. That’s how I make a living.

March going down Sixth Avenue is….very long

Andrew Cuomo Is Garbage | Defector Welcome to Margin of Error, a politics column from Tom Scocca, editor of the Indignity newsletter. As a voter in the New York City mayoral race, I keep thinking about the rats and the garbage cans. Th...

Just seems like if you can't even commit to putting the trash where the rats can't eat it, you're not the Serious Get Things Done mayoral candidate defector.com/andrew-cuomo...

True.

Showing specifically the last month is a pretty selective screenshot:

One of the things I learned in labor organizing is that you have to enjoy the victories — even the small ones — before going back into the fight. So you bet your ass I’m gonna savor some Elon / Taco Don fight memes.

But tomorrow everyone in a red state please call your senators to kill the bill.

“New York, Hatherley argues, has been in the grips of a hidebound dogma for roughly the past sixty years.”

Samuel Stein reviews Owen Hatherley's “Walking the Streets/Walking the Projects,” out from repeaterbooks.bsky.social‬, in NYRA no. 45. nyra.nyc/articles/mod...xe

"Do we envy the rats for their enjoyment of a life unburdened by having to know what Grok AI is? Or are we simply jealous that some form of life, even if it’s not human, has found a way to live in New York rent-free?"

So what’s the deal with New York City’s rats?

nyra.nyc/articles/rat...

Hell Gate with an ad in yesterday’s @nyreviewofarch.bsky.social newsletter 💪

On May 27, join us at Community Bookstore in Brooklyn for a conversation between Jordan Thomas and Kate Aronoff. They’ll be discussing Thomas’s book “When It All Burns,” out that day, which began as a 2020 Drift essay on climate change and wildfires.

www.eventbrite.com/e/jordan-tho...

New York Focus and Hell Gate Present a Democratic Mayoral Candidate Forum New Media, New Mayor. The Public Theater hosts your favorite New York newsrooms for a chat with mayoral candidates on May 15.

We're partnering with @hellgatenyc.com to present an evening at the Public Theater with top Democratic mayoral candidates ahead of the June 24 primary election.

Sign up to join the livestream:

www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-f...

Found it. Wow!

What is this citation?

Mark Zuckerberg Still Can’t Buy Taste | Defector In April, after months of tech-dipshit palace intrigue, photos of Mark Zuckerberg’s long-rumored D.C. mansion finally spread their way through social media. Because Zuckerberg is an immensely disliked...

wrote about the Zuck abode for @defector.com
defector.com/mark-zuckerb...

Especially appreciate the part explaining through-running.

Deep Dive: How Will Sean Duffy Fix Penn Station? - Streetsblog New York City The Transportation Secretary has taken over the biggest transportation planning mess in North America. First, he has to realize that this job is more than just cosmetic surgery.

This is a great explainer on the battle over Penn Station expansion/remodel.

h/t to @kristoncapps.bsky.social's highly informative Design Edition newsletter.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/04/21/d...